☕️ JPJ issues recalls on five major car brands

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

81.7 terabytes of data were torrented by Meta from shadow libraries via Anna’s Archive, including 35.7 terabytes from Z-Library and LibGen, according to newly unsealed court filings. Meta had also previously torrented 80.6 terabytes from LibGen alone. Meta allegedly trained its models on pirated books. "Torrenting from a corporate laptop doesn’t feel right," Nikolay Bashlykov, a Meta research engineer, wrote in an April 2023 message, adding a smiley emoji. Uh-duh!

15,000 tonnes of eggs are being exported from Turkey to the US as bird flu slashes US production and raises prices. The outbreak, which began in 2022, has wiped out 162 mil birds. Since April 2024, nearly 70 people have been infected, with one death reported. It was first detected in dairy cattle in Texas last March and has since spread to more than 970 herds in 17 states. Fun fact — Turkey ranks among the world's top 10 egg exporters, according to Ibrahim Afyon, chairman of the Egg Producers Central Union in Turkey.

1,793 households (7,332 people) were living in hardcore poverty as of Dec 31, 2024. Kuala Lumpur had the highest number with 507 families ( 1,737 people ), up from 474 households in November. Nationwide, hardcore poverty households decreased from 2,191. There are no families in hardcore poverty in Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Perlis, and Putrajaya, said federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

JPJ announced a bonanza recall
The Road Transport Department (JPJ) has announced a mega recall of vehicles affecting 41,688 vehicles across five-passenger car brands - Honda, Kia, Ford, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Almost 88% of the recalled vehicles are the ‘logo H’ Honda cars, particularly their CIVIC and CR-V type models. This JPJ recall for the Honda models is for abnormal sounds and roughness when turning the steering wheel, according to the department’s statement. The issues hampering the Honda brand have been known for years but consumer sentiment toward the brand appears unaffected. For 2024, Honda sold more cars compared to 2023, with 81,699 vehicles sold by the brand in 2024, a 2.1% increase. There was even a study conducted by a few researchers from universities in Malaysia and India on why Honda is so revered as a brand. The main factors are brand image (exudes a mirage of exclusivity and higher class) and the high quality of service by Honda. Majulah Pemilik Honda Untuk Menarik Gadis Yang Lebih Bermutu.

Illegal activities in the mainstream spotlight

• Spanning a period of about 1.5 months, starting on New Year's Day, the police and the Department of Environment (DOE) conducted a multi-agency operation to crack down on illegal e-waste processing operations nationwide. During that period, a huge amount of e-waste and other equipment, valued at RM3.8 bil was seized. On top of that, 538 individuals, including children as young as two years old and others aged up to 60, were arrested. Authorities revealed that the syndicate’s modus operandi was for the recycling plants to be registered under the names of local citizens, though the plants were actually managed by Chinese nationals through proxy arrangements.

• Moving from e-waste to scam centres, the Immigration Department has arrested 46 foreigners who ran an online scam syndicate that generated up to RM150,000 in profits per day (RM3.3 mil per month - assuming scammers need weekend for the break too). According to the Immigration Department deputy director-general (operations) Jafri Embok Taha, the syndicate offered fraudulent investments in shares, goods, and online trading through social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, WeChat, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

Before this, it was plastic waste, now it is e-waste. In the future, who knows if it may be nuclear waste? As it is, Malaysia is well-known for becoming the dumpsite of radioactive materials, whether it be intentionally or accidentally. In 1982, a rare earth extracting company owned by Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Beh Minerals and Tabung Haji allegedly failed to manage its radioactive waste well which led to the death of 7 people from the radioactive pollution. The company’s plant in Bukit Merah subsequently closed in 1992 amid intense public pressure. On the other hand, Australian-based Lynas Rare Earths currently operates the world’s largest rare earth extraction plant outside of China in Kuantan, Pahang. By February 2023, the plant had produced over one million metric tonnes of radioactive waste.

Johor-Singapore SEZ is off to a good start
Hong Kong-listed battery maker Gold Peak Technology Group has decided to be one of the pioneer investors in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) by investing RM670 mil to build a new facility combining manufacturing and research and development in Johor. Gold Peak’s senior VP, Daniel Chua, admitted that the move to invest in the JS-SEZ is one of the company’s strategies to hedge the risk amid the uncertainty of Donald Trump’s US presidency. At the moment, Gold Peak already has three manufacturing plants in Johor and a headquarters in Singapore.

Shorts

1. Human Resources Ministry targets Non-Occupational Accident Scheme legislation this year

   Human Resources Minister Steven Sim announced that his ministry intended to introduce a law that provides protection not only when employees are at work but also in cases of accidents outside of working hours. Sim added that the law has been long-awaited, mooted by previous governments and also trade union members.

2. Selangor Rail Line project in final phase of feasibility study

   Selangor State Investment, Trade and Mobility Committee chairman Ng Sze Han said that the state is working on the final phase of the feasibility study on the Selangor Rail Line project. The project consists of the construction of a 200km rail alignment with four proposed spur lines – Westport, Klang, Putra Heights and Universiti Selangor Bestari Jaya. Once approved, the project will be rolled out in phases across a decade. Ng also added that travelling from Sabak Bernam to KLIA via the new rail will only take about 1 hour 42 minutes, compared to almost 3 hours by car.

3. DBKL mulling high-rise schools, says FT Minister

   The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is considering building schools between 10 and 17 storeys high, given the increased scarcity of available land in the city. Federal Territories Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa added that similar high-rise school models are widely used in Australia. If you are educated in the public school system such as myself, you will remember that classes had to share brooms to maintain cleanliness. Returning a broom from 17 Aktif to 1 Harmoni may involve a falling broom if this broom-sharing is still a thing in future.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Trump’s world

Trump calls Zelenskyy a “dictator”
While the negotiations to end the Ukraine-Russia war go on, Trump has taken to social media with a scathing post about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of taking US money and embroiling the country in an endless conflict, including going into the war with Russia that he knows “could not be won”. This further grows the feud between the two, with Trump also calling Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections” and alleged him of wanting to keep “milking” US military support even as Washington tries to end the war with Russia.

US marks Latin American drug cartels and criminal gangs as “global terrorist organisations”
Amid escalating rhetoric from Trump that associates migration with crime, the US has designated eight Latin American criminal and drug-trafficking groups as “global terrorist organisations”, stating that the groups have committed or pose a risk of committing “acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the US”. So now they are also officially terrorists - Al-Qaeda welcomes new members from Latin America. Experts are saying that vague definitions by Trump’s administration could be used to justify expansive presidential powers and policies previously seen as out of bounds, such as military strikes on Mexican territory or stripping migrants of their right to due process.

Tech: A Microsoft breakthrough, a boosted iPhone SE, and Grok 3

• Powerful quantum computers in years, not decades, says Microsoft

  The world was abuzz with the unveiling of the Majorana 1 chip, a breakthrough innovation by Microsoft in the field of quantum computing. Quantum computing technology uses principles of particle physics to create a new type of computer capable of solving problems ordinary computers cannot. Majorana 1 was developed from topological conductors, a novel material that unlocks a fundamental leap in computing by making quantum bits, or qubits, faster, more reliable, and significantly smaller than before. The qubits in Majorana 1 measure just 1/100th of a millimetre, making it possible to build a million-qubit processor on a chip small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Microsoft said that Majorana 1 is set to speed up the emergence of quantum computers by years instead of decades, allowing computers to tackle problems beyond the reach of today’s most powerful supercomputers.

• Apple unveils boosted version of its cheapest iPhone

  Apple debuted the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, apparently a sleeker and more expensive version of its lowest-priced iPhone range, the iPhone SE. It would be the fourth generation of a model that’s sold at a dramatically lower price than the iPhone’s standard and premium models. The iPhone 16e includes the souped-up computer chip needed to process an array of AI features, apart from a more powerful battery and camera. All these upgrades translate into a higher starting price for an iPhone 16e at USD600, a 40% increase from USD430 for the last iPhone SE. Still, the iPhone 16e will be more affordable than the cheapest standard iPhone 16 retailing at USD800.

• Elon Musk launches Grok 3 - an AI chatbot he calls ‘scary smart’

  Elon Musk’s AI Company xAI has launched the latest version of its chatbot, Grok 3. Musk promoted it as “scary smart”, with 10 times the computational resources of its predecessor that was released in August 2024. He also said that Grok is to “understand the universe” and has very powerful reasoning capabilities, outperforming anything in the tests against anything that’s been released so far. xAI hopes that Grok will find traction in a highly competitive sector contested by the likes of ChatGPT and China’s DeepSeek. It will be made available first to Premium+ paid subscribers of X before other users.

Shorts:

1. Delta offers USD30,000 each to Toronto plane crash passengers

   Delta Airlines will be offering all passengers on board the crashed plane on Monday an amount of USD30,000 with no strings attached. The plane had hit the runway hard at Toronto’s Pearson Airport before flipping upside down. All passengers survived the crash, but 21 were injured, with emergency responders dealing with injuries ranging from back sprains to head trauma and anxiety. One was still hospitalised as of Wednesday morning.

2. Global glacier melt is accelerating worrisomely

   A recent assessment published in the journal Nature has discovered an alarmingly sharp increase in glacier melting over the past decade, driving a quicker rise in sea levels. The world’s glaciers have lost around 5% of their volume since the turn of the century, with wide regional differences ranging from a 2% loss in Antarctica to up to 40% in the European Alps. On average, some 273 bil tonnes of ice are being lost per year – equivalent to the world population’s water consumption for 30 years. Glacier loss would also impact fresh water supplies, particularly in central Asia and the central Andes. The report is available here.

3. IVF insurance startup Future Family offers a money-back guarantee

   Couples struggling with fertilisation in the US may now have some relief - startup Future Family wants to help ease some of that burden by offering a new IVF insurance product, which will provide a money-back guarantee if the procedure does not work - with conditions attached. Over the years, Future Family has secured a total of USD150 mil in funding, including USD100 mil in a credit facility announced in 2018. Two IVF cycles can cost up to USD40,000, depending on location. It burns a hole in the wallet and is emotionally and physically exhausting.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Indomie is produced by Indofood, the largest instant noodle manufacturer in the world, with over 28 bil produced annually. Indofood generated revenue of USD7.33 bil (RM32.5 bil) in 2023. Here’s its story and how this Indonesian brand made it big in Africa.

2. If you think Malaysian politicians lack intelligence, it seems like it’s a consistent trait across the world. Watch TikTok CEO Si Zhou Chew getting grilled by US Congress. One of the questions asked - ‘I have never heard of a country called Singapore. Is it in western Europe or mainland Europe?’

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A cute video to exit to the weekend - a toddler playing alongside a penguin and imitating its walk. Have a good break folks!